Who are they?

Participating startups have a variety of services in the B2B and B2C spheres from fintech and payments platforms all the way to travel planning services. All of the companies have a digital platform or element. InteliBPO, Rebus, KAWAK, Taxia Life, Instrumentalia, Sistema Saberes, IGLUW, Planesturisticos.com, and Lookapp will be in Mexico while IMIX visits Peru.

Key activities for the trip - connect, share, and prospect

During the trip the startups will participate in three key activities. First, acquaint themselves with the ecosystem and it’s players via accelerators and incubators. Second, connect directly with other Colombian startups that are already active in Mexico or Peru to share experiences and important insights regarding these new markets. Finally, each will have a personalized commercial agenda. Each startup will conduct meetings with potential clients or partners in order to begin the concrete steps to touch down in a new market.

Getting ready

In preparation for the trip, the startups have just wrapped up a bootcamp where they began a “deep dive” process into how to land these new markets. The event centered around topics including client acquisition, buyer personas, and discussions with entrepreneurs already working in Mexico and Peru.

Thus far in the program, startups have been focusing first on the when and where of international expansion. First and foremost, they identified if they were in the most adequate phase to begin expansion, and if not, when is the best time to do so for their business. Then, they began working on the where -- identifying the countries that they should prioritize. In this prioritization phase the startups have used a methodology analyzing seven drivers for internationalization including geographical distance, cultural distance, governmental influences, market needs, market differences, competition, and costs.

They finished this phase with a pitch event where they demonstrated their progress, presenting their product/market fit and analysis of the drivers for internationalization. The information was in-depth and insightful in comparison to their presentations during the selection and kickoff.

“We’re really pleased to accompany these ten startups in their expansion process. With the support of the Colombian government initiative, Apps.co, we were able to not just provide startups with a methodology but with the resources to physically explore the markets they want to enter,” said Alejandro Gomez, Program Director.

Learn more about the program in our previous blog post here and be sure to follow Seedstars and startups on social media through the month of November for updates on their trip!